


Taki's Challenge

by YumeHanabi



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-30 18:50:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20101960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YumeHanabi/pseuds/YumeHanabi
Summary: One day, Taki receives a strange challenge letter related to yokai. With Natsume, Tanuma, and of course Sensei on her side, will she be up to the task?





	Taki's Challenge

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gramarye](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gramarye/gifts).

> I don't know if that's exactly what you had in mind, but I had fun imagining that scenario :3 
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

“You all owe me manju from Nanatsujiya. Each and every one of you.”

His tone was meant to be threatening, each word emphasized by a jab of his finger.

And yet, the reactions were greatly underwhelming.

A nervous giggle, a groan of pain, an accusatory glare.

“This is all your fault, Sensei.”

Oh, what a bother…

  


* * *

  


Thinking back, it was all Natsume’s fault, really. He was the one who had noticed the dark circles under Taki’s eyes, the one who had asked her if anything was troubling her, the one who had listened to her talk excitedly about a strange letter she had received and was trying to decipher.

This was also the Tanuma brat’s fault, as he was the one who, having joined them mid-conversation, had suggested to go to the girl’s house after class to help her. And he was the one who spotted him observing them and asked him to join them.

There was no need for him to comply, of course, but the Taki girl always had a supply of delicious sweets at her house, and it was right about time for a snack. Madara had planned to simply feast on the cookies in a corner and let the kids do their kids thing on their own. However, the girl’s story had piqued his interest.

“Look at this!” she was telling the boys, thrusting a piece of paper toward them. “Aren’t those characters strange? I thought it was written in a foreign language at first, but I couldn’t find anything remotely like it. I think…” she lowered her voice to a whisper “I think this might be yokai writings.”

The look on Natsume’s face had all but confirmed her theory, which was enough for Madara to want to see for himself. He hopped on Natsume’s shoulder to get a better view, and read the letter aloud for all to hear.

_“Dear scion of the Taki clan,_

_In this season of cherry blossoms, it is a pleasure for me to issue you this missive at long last._

_Without further ado, I hereby challenge you to a formal duel, so that we can finally put our families’ long-standing feud at rest._

_Should you accept it, please present yourself at my estate, located at the address enclosed with this letter, at the hour of the Snake on Greenery Day. Bring three of your best shiki along._

_I am looking forward to our competition._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Utsunomiya Ryuji”_

A stunned silence followed, but it was not long before it was broken by Taki’s increasingly excited chatter. “Utsunomiya! I’ve seen that name before in my grandpa’s notes! Hang on, don’t move, I’ll go get my notebook!” And with that she left for a while, and the living room became quiet again.

“A duel… What does that mean?” Tanuma asked, uncertain.

Natsume was frowning. “I don’t know. But I don’t like the sound of it. It says to bring shiki… Could this be related to exorcists, Sensei?”

“How would I know?”

Taki came back a few moments later, shuffling through a small notebook.

“There! I found it!” Seeing she had everyone’s full attention, she continued, “I told you before my ancestors used to be onmyoji, right? For his research, my grandfather dug into our family tree, and apparently found documents attesting to the presence of a “Taki” at the Heian court. He didn’t find much about it, but there is mention of another man, called “Utsunomiya,” in relations to him. Do you think… Do you think this may be linked?” She was getting more and more excited at the prospect.

“Taki…” Natsume started prudently, “This letter is talking about a feud…”

“Yes! Maybe they were rivals!”

“I think what Natsume’s trying to say is that this Utsunomiya might not have the best intentions. If they were rivals during the Heian period, that’s what… 1,000 years of grudge? Who knows what he’s planning…”

“Oh… Yeah. Right.” She looked suddenly defeated.

“I’m sorry,” Natsume said, as if her disappointment was somehow his fault.

“No, it’s all right. I… I guess I was just excited at the prospect of learning more about my family’s past and our relationship to yokai… I got carried away. But you’re right, I shouldn’t be reckless with things I don’t fully understand.”

“On the other hand, if he is indeed shouldering 1,000 years of grudge, would he take it well if you ignored his challenge? He knows where you live, after all…” Madara pointed out.

“Sensei!”

The two boys looked at Taki worriedly. Human kids always liked to worry unnecessarily, didn’t they? The solution was so simple…

“All you need to do is win that competition.”

“Sensei!”

Taki looked down at the letter, considering her options. After a moment, she looked up, eyes full of determination.

“I’ll do it.”

“I’ll go with you,” was Natsume’s immediate response, followed by Tanuma’s “Me too.”

“Tanuma, this could be dangerous…”

“All the more reason for me to come. Look, I know there isn’t much I can do, but there’s no way I’m leaving you two alone. Besides, even if yokai are involved, that guy is a human, right? I can deal with that.”

Natsume looked like he wanted to argue further, but Taki agreed with Tanuma’s reasoning.

“Thank you, you two. It means a lot to me.”

And this is how they all decided to take up the challenge. See? This was hardly his fault. Sure, he may have encouraged the girl to do it, but in the end, that was their own decision. He could hardly be blamed for their situation.

“By the way…” Taki asked after a while. “What’s a shiki?”

  


* * *

  


According to Natsume, the man apparently did not live too far, which would enable them to make the trip there and back the same day. However, since they had no idea what was waiting for them there or how long the so-called “challenge” would last, Natsume made arrangements to stay at Tanuma’s house that night, so as not to worry the Fujiwaras in case they came home late. Of course, Touko was quick to allow it, always happy to see him getting along with his friends, and even prepared them bento to take along.

“I call dibs on the shrimp,” Madara announced as Natsume was packing his bag.

“You’ll have to earn it,” Natsume replied seriously. “Don’t forget, you’re my bodyguard. I’m counting on you to protect us in case something goes wrong.”

“Tch. Ungrateful human. You wouldn’t be able to do anything without my help.”

“I know. Thank you, Sensei.” Natsume petted his head gently.

“Heh! Don’t think you can charm me or—ooh, that feels good. Scritch my ears, Natsume! …_As I was saying_, it’s shrimp or nothing.”

“All right,” Natsume laughed. “You’ll get all the shrimps. Come on, let’s go.”

The kids decided to hold a last-minute strategy meeting near their destination to make sure they were ready. Since Taki did not have control over ayakashi, they had decided that Natsume, Tanuma and Madara himself would act as her shiki. Of course, there was little the girl and Tanuma could do if they were to face actual supernatural beings, but Madara was confident in his ability to dispatch any exorcist and their henchmen if he needed to. In fact, he would even gladly gobble them whole if he could, but Natsume would probably not be happy if he did.

“If he tries anything funny, I’ll run and call the police,” Tanuma promised as Taki handed him his mask.

To make their disguise more convincing, he and Natsume put on yukata, which Madara had slept on the night before to help mask their human smell.

“How do we look?” he asked.

“Great!” Taki answered. “I’m almost envious…”

“Don’t forget,” Madara warned. “You’re the master, and they’re your underlings. You are supposed to order them around.”

“Right.”

“Aren’t you her underling as well, Sensei?” Natsume teased.

“Hmph. I am simply helping you because I feel like it. You’d better reward me well afterwards.”

“Don’t worry, Sensei. I’ll give you lots of cuddles later,” Taki promised.

“That won’t be necessary. A snack would be sufficient.”

“He wants our shrimps,” Natsume laughed.

“I’ll give you anything you want,” Taki said, crouching down to pet him. “Thank you for coming along.”

“Are you ready?” Natsume asked.

“Hang on a moment.”

Madara focused for a few seconds, then transformed into his human form and put on a mask as well.

“Just in case we run into someone who’s heard of me,” he explained. “We can go now, if you’re all set.”

  


* * *

  


Madara felt it as soon as he stepped onto the property. The air was buzzing with protection spells, typical of exorcist houses. The humans, of course, didn’t notice anything and rang the doorbell, unconscious as to what they had just stepped into.

The human who opened the door was a human male, still young, judging by his appetizing smell, but older than the trio of kids. Probably older than the Natori brat, even. He had opened the door with a severe expression, but his eyes widened when he got a good look of Taki and her three ‘shiki.’

“Mister Utsunomiya…?” Taki asked. “I’m Taki. Taki Tohru. I got your letter…”

The man nodded in recognition, but looked progressively more panicked as he looked at her.

“Hello, Miss Taki,” he replied hesitantly. “You’re… I didn’t expect you to be… How _old_ are you?”

She looked a Natsume briefly before answering. “Sixteen.”

“Oh no… I didn’t think… What have I done?”

As he was pacing on the doorstep muttering to himself, an ayakashi in the form of a tengu appeared by his side, eliciting a cry of surprise from the humans. The _three_ humans.

“You can see it?” Natsume whispered to Taki and Tanuma. They nodded in response.

“Master, is there a problem?” the ayakashi asked. “Is this your challenger?”

“Yes, but…” He looked at Taki apprehensively. “I’m sorry, Miss Taki. I didn’t think you’d be so young. Oh, I’m going to be in so much trouble…”

“Can you tell us what this is about?” Natsume asked.

“How insolent!” the tengu exclaimed. “How dare such a lowly ayakashi address my master directly!”

“It’s all right, Taro,” Utsunomiya said, before turning back to Taki. “Are those your shiki?”

“Yes! This is Takashi, Kaname, and, um… Sensei!”

“They look weak,” the tengu scoffed haughtily.

Madara was about to teach him who was weak, but Natsume stopped him before he could move.

“Don’t make a scene now,” he whispered. “Remember the shrimps.”

Okay, fine. For the shrimps.

“Could you please explain what’s going on?” Taki asked. “Why did you send me this challenge letter?”

“Ah, well, you see…” the man started. “Oh, but where are my manners? Please come in and have a cup of tea.”

“We’d rather stay outside,” Tanuma objected.

That, Madara actually agreed with. Who knew what kind of spells and traps could lay in this house... The humans were unlikely to be affected by them, but Madara had no desire to step into an exorcist’s house. The front yard was already unpleasant as it was.

“Right... Right…” the man nodded. “A grown man inviting a high school girl into his house alone doesn’t look good, does it? What was I thinking? I swear I don’t have bad intentions! Truth to be told, I did not expect someone so young to show up.”

“Just answer her question already!” Madara snapped, irritated by the man’s hemming and hawing.

“Right. Well, I don’t know how much you know about our ancestors…”

“Not much,” Taki admitted. “I know that some of them were onmyoji, and that your family name came up in some documents we inherited, but I honestly don’t know more. My grandpa was the one who looked into my family history, and I haven’t found all his notes on it yet.”

“I see. Well, from what I’ve gathered from my own family history and what this little guy told me,” he pointed at the tengu, “my ancestors were onmyoji as well, and apparently worked with yours at the imperial court. That was a really long time ago, though… Anyway, it was said that they were rivals and would often challenge each other.”

“They fought valiantly,” the tengu added proudly, “but the heir to the Taki clan vanished one day, and our score was never settled.”

“Taro has served our family for hundreds of years, and he still remembers your ancestors. He’s the one who found out that the line still lived on, and he wrote the letter for me. I thought… I thought it would be a good occasion to resume the tradition. But I didn’t stop to consider the implications. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right!” Taki replied brightly. “Honestly, I was really excited when I received your letter. I want to learn more about my family history. Would you mind telling me more about what you know?”

“Yes, I suppose I can do that… If that’s all right with you…”

“What about the challenge?!” Madara protested. “Don’t tell me I came all the way here for nothing!”

“Sensei…” Natsume groaned.

“Well, if you still want to take it…” Utsunomiya started.

“Yes!” Taki answered.

“That depends on what it is,” Natsume stepped in front of her. “If this is dangerous for Ta—I mean, our master…”

“No, no, don’t worry,” Utsunomiya hastily replied. “Nothing that could cause her harm. Though our ancestors often challenged each other, it was just friendly duels. Nothing dangerous. I had planned something more like a treasure hunt, in fact.”

“A treasure hunt?”

“This property’s actually really huge,” he explained. “I’ve hidden a special object in the backyard. If you can find it while avoiding getting caught by my shiki, it’s your win. If my shiki capture you, it’s your loss. They’ve been instructed to treat you gently, of course, and you can use yours to defend you and help you find the object. What do you think? If you win, I’ll show you everything I’ve found about our ancestors.”

Taki turned to the others. “I’d like to try,” she said. “But I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

Natsume’s expression was hidden by his mask, but Madara knew he was still wary. Nevertheless, he nodded. “If you want to do it, then we will help you.”

“Thank you.”

Happy that Taki had accepted his challenge, Utsunomiya introduced his two other shiki—a tiger-like beast and an ayakashi with a flower mask—and gave them further instructions. His backyard was indeed quite enormous and comprised of a large koi pond, a grove, and a small shrine. The treasure he had mentioned, a jade magatama, was hidden in one of those three areas. If Taki found it before noon without getting caught, she would win the privilege of asking her challenger anything. If she lost, she promised to show him some of her grandfather’s research.

  


* * *

  


And this is how they ended up here, in the small, dimly lit shrine, hiding from the three powerful ayakashi looking for them. Well, more precisely, the _two_ powerful ayakashi looking for them, as Madara had just expelled one.

Heading for the shrine first had been a good idea. It was easier to defend its entrance than deal with all their pursuers in the open. Madara guarded the place while the humans looked for the magatama, but their search unfortunately turned out to be unsuccessful.

“I don’t think it’s there,” Taki said. “It would be too easy, I suppose…”

“If we were real shiki, we could have probably split up to search…” Natsume said.

“It’s okay, we still have time. We’ll just check every place together.”

Natsume turned to Tanuma, who was rubbing his temples, as his head had started hurting when they passed by the pond on the way to the shrine. “Are you all right? We can continue without you, if you want.”

“I’m fine,” the other boy answered. Under Natsume’s dubious gaze, he added: “It’s true! It hurt suddenly back then at the pond, but I’m feeling better now.”

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” Taki apologized.

“I’m fine,” he repeated. “I’m just sensitive to supernatural stuff, that’s all...” He suddenly looked down, his eyes narrowing in thought. “Say, you don’t think… Is it possible I reacted to something in particular at the pond? I mean, it only really hurt there, not here, even when Ponta was fighting the flower yokai.”

Natsume caught on immediately. “By something special, do you mean the treasure?”

“Yeah. I mean, this is just speculation, but…”

“It’s worth investigating,” Taki agreed.

“I don’t sense them around here at the moment,” Madara spoke up, “so this is a good time to leave.”

They all agreed that having a look at the pond was the best course of action, and they made their way toward it. Tanuma’s headache returned as they got closer, lending his theory merit. They circled the pond, trying to find the spot where the reaction was the most intense. Fortunately for him, it did not take them long.

“I think it’s near here,” he said when they reached the other side.

The side of the pond was decorated with stones, which would make a good, unsuspicious hiding spot for the treasure.

“Let’s look under the stones,” Tanuma suggested.

But as soon as they started searching, the tiger yokai sprang out of the water where it was hiding, and lunged at Taki. However, Madara had anticipated an attack, and was able to block its path, turning into his true form to better fend off the beast. The tiger roared and clawed at him, but Madara avoided it and caught its neck with his mouth. But while he was busy immobilizing his opponent, the tengu descended upon the kids.

“Natsume! Above you!” he warned.

Natsume looked up and, seeing the imminent danger, acted immediately. He pushed Taki out of the way and tackled the tengu as soon as he landed.

“Taki, Tanuma, I’ll hold him down. Keep looking!” he cried out.

“Natsume… All right! Hang in there!”

They resumed their search frantically, hoping that Natsume could hold him down long enough. Taro was not ready to give up, though, and he tried to wiggle free of Natsume’s grasp, but the boy held on tight.

“You… insolent…” the tengu grumbled. “How dare you be so strong when you look so weak?”

“I’m sorry,” Natsume told him, “but I won’t let you go. I want Taki to win. This is important to her.”

Their struggle lasted a few more minutes, and Madara thought he would need to intervene, even if that meant letting go of the tiger, but a happy cry put an end to the fight.

“We found it!”

Taki got up holding up the bright green magatama to show them. Seeing this, the two ayakashi immediately stopped struggling.

“I admit defeat,” the tengu surrendered. “Well done.”

  


* * *

  


To say Utsunomiya was impressed when they came back brandishing the magatama triumphantly was an understatement. “You’re so young, and already so strong! Your ancestors would be so proud!”

“I didn’t really do anything…” she admitted. “Sensei and Natsume did most of the work, and it’s Tanuma who found it.”

“Commanding powerful yokai is a mark of strength!”

“Mister Utsunomiya, actually… I have a confession to make,” Taki admitted sheepishly. “I… I can’t actually _see_ yokai.”

Utsunomiya stared at her dumbfounded, then suddenly burst out laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“I’m sorry…”

“No! Don’t apologize!” he laughed. “I actually have a confession to make too: I can’t see them either.”

“What?”

“But your shiki—”

“Oh, I can see my shiki… but only here. You see, my ancestors filled the property with various wards and spells, among which a spell that enables regular people to see yokai.”

“That’s…” Natsume started.

“Just like my grandpa’s spell!” Taki exclaimed in awe.

“Wow, really? You have the same one?”

“Well, that makes sense,” Tanuma pointed out. “If both your ancestors used to work together in the past, they probably shared their knowledge with each other.”

“That’s true…”

“So, you, too, have shiki who have been serving your family for generations, despite losing the gift?” Utsunomiya asked.

“No, actually… They’re just my friends. _Human_ friends. Well, Sensei’s a yokai, but he’s not mine.”

Since the truth was out now, Natsume and Tanuma removed their masks, and Madara transformed back into his cat form.

“Sorry for deceiving you…”

“We thought it might be dangerous, so we came along to protect her.”

Utsunomiya stared at them, awe evident on his face. “You kids are incredible. To think my family’s long-time shiki were bested by three teenagers and a kitty…” He started laughing again. “What a turn of events.”

“Master,” Taro spoke, pointing to Natsume, “this one is not ordinary. He possesses real power.”

“That must be why they could fool even you…” Utsunomiya pondered. He then addressed Taki. “Well, that doesn’t change the fact that you won. In fact, that makes your victory all the more impressive!”

“Thank you. It was really fun.” She then turned toward Natsume and Tanuma. “And thank you, you two. This wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

Madara cleared his throat. “Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

“And of course it’s all thanks to Sensei!” Taki picked him up and hugged him tight. A bit too tight for his liking, but he knew that protesting when she was in that state was futile. He would just have to endure for a few minutes.

“As promised,” Utsunomiya said, “you may ask me anything.”

“I have so many questions, I don’t even know where to begin…”

“In that case, why don’t you come back another day? That would give you time to prepare your questions, and I could look for interesting documents to show you. Besides, I think your friends probably need some rest.”

Indeed, Natsume was exhausted from the fight, and the previous headaches had taken a toll on Tanuma. Taki agreed that this was for the best, and they quickly decided on a time and place to meet again before they bade each other goodbye and the little group headed to their bus stop to go home.

“I still can’t believe I met someone with a similar family history with yokai as me,” Taki said after a while, a huge smile on her face. “I can’t wait to talk to him again.”

“It is nice…” Natsume muttered to himself. Seeing their inquisitive looks, he repeated louder: “I mean, it’s nice to find someone to share something like that with. I didn’t have anyone to talk to about yokai before, so I kind of understand your feelings.”

“You have us now,” Tanuma smiled.

Natsume returned the smile. “Yes. I’m often worried about putting you in danger, but I’m grateful I can talk to you about this part of my life.”

“And I’m always happy to hear about it,” Taki piped up

Madara chose that moment to jump on Natsume’s shoulder and change the subject.

“So, I believe you owe me a shrimp or three…”

**Author's Note:**

> Sensei got his shrimps and enough manju to last two days :>


End file.
